The current US undocumented population is large and settled. As a result, millions of US-born citizens are growing up with undocumented parents or siblings. In this paper, we use original survey data to study the politics of the US-citizen offspring of undocumented migrants. We test theories of parental political socialization, which imply that having undocumented parents may have chilling effects on political engagement. We also test theories of social activism, which predict that the offspring of the undocumented may be motivated to make use of their rights as US citizens by protesting on behalf of their parents. We find no evidence of lower political engagement among those with undocumented parents. Instead, we find that the offspring of the undocumented are more likely to protest on immigration issues, and more optimistic that popular protest can induce political change. We use an instrumental variables design to test whether these differences warrant a causal interpretation, and find tentative evidence that having undocumented parents does indeed have mobilizing political effects.
AbrajanoMarisaLundgrenLydia. 2014. “How Watershed Immigration Policies Affect American Public Opinion over a Lifetime.”International Migration Review49 (1): 70–105.
2.
AbramsonPaul R.1972. “Political Efficacy and Political Trust among Black Schoolchildren: Two Explanations.”The Journal of Politics34 (4): 1243–75.
3.
AlbaRichardKasinitzPhilipWatersMary C.2011. “The Kids Are (Mostly) Alright: Second-Generation Assimilation: Comments on Haller, Portes and Lynch.”Social Forces89 (3): 763–73.
4.
AndreasPeter. 2009. Border Games: Policing the US-Mexico Divide. 2nd ed.Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
5.
AngristJoshua D.PischkeJörn-Steffen. 2009. Mostly Harmless Econometrics: An Empiricist’s Companion. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
6.
BanduraAlbert. 1969. “Social-Learning Theory of Identificatory Processes.” In Handbook of Socialization Theory Research, edited by GoslinDavid A., 231–62. Chicago: Rand McNally.
7.
BanduraAlbert. 1971. Social Learning Theory. New York: General Learning Press.
8.
BartelsLarry M.JackmanSimon. 2014. “A Generational Model of Political Learning.”Electoral Studies33:7–18.
9.
BeanFrank D.LeachMark A.BrownSusan K.BachmeierJames D.HippJohn R.2011. “The Educational Legacy of Unauthorized Migration: Comparisons across US-Immigrant Groups in How Parents’ Status Affects Their Offspring.”International Migration Review45 (2): 348–85.
10.
BrownAnnaLópezGustavoLopezMark Hugo. 2016. “Digital Divide Narrows for Latinos as More Spanish Speakers and Immigrants Go Online.”Pew Research Center, Washington, DC.
11.
BrownSusan K.BeanFrank D.2016. “Migration Status and Political Knowledge among Latino Immigrants.”The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences2 (3): 22–41.
12.
CarlssonGostaKarlssonKatarina. 1970. “Age, Cohorts and the Generation of Generations.”American Sociological Review35 (4): 710–18.
13.
CarrascoTania A. U.SeifHinda. 2014. “Disrupting the Dream: Undocumented Youth Reframe Citizenship and Deportability through Anti-deportation Activism.”Latino Studies12:279–99.
14.
ChavezLeo. 2013. The Latino Threat: Constructing Immigrants, Citizens, and the Nation. 2nd ed.Stanford: Stanford University Press.
15.
ChoWendy K. T.GimpelJames G.WuTony. 2006. “Clarifying the Role of SES in Political Participation: Policy Threat and Arab American Mobilization.”The Journal of Politics68 (4): 977–91.
16.
Cohen-MarksMaraNuñoStephen A.SanchezGabriel R.2009. “Look Back in Anger? Voter Opinions of Mexican Immigrants in the Aftermath of the 2006 Immigration Demonstrations.”Urban Affairs Review44 (5): 695–717.
17.
DinasElias. 2013. “Opening ‘Openness to Change’: Political Events and the Increased Sensitivity of Young Adults.”Political Research Quarterly66 (4): 868–82.
18.
DiSograCharlesCobbCurtissChanElisaDennisJ. Michael. 2011. “Calibrating Non-probability Internet Samples with Probability Samples Using Early Adopter Characteristics.” In Joint Statistical Meetings (JSM) Section on Survey Research Methods, 4501–15. Alexandria, VA: American Statistical Association.
19.
DonatoKatharine M.ArmentaArmada. 2011. “What We Know about Unauthorized Migration.”Annual Review of Sociology37:529–43.
20.
DrebyJoanna. 2012. “The Burden of Deportation on Children in Mexican Immigrant Families.”Journal of Marriage and Family74 (4): 829–45.
21.
DurkheimEmile. (1897) 1997. Suicide. New York: Free Press.
22.
FarrisEmily M.HolmanMirya R.2017. “All Politics Is Local? County Sheriffs and Localized Policies of Immigration Enforcement.”Political Research Quarterly70 (1): 142–54.
23.
FragaLuisGarciaJohnHeroRodneyJones-CorreaMichaelMartinezValerieSeguraGary. 2012. Latinos in the New Millennium. New York: Cambridge University Press.
24.
GarciaF. Chris. 1973. Political Socialization of Chicano Children: A Comparative Study with Anglos in California Schools. New York: Praeger.
25.
GimpelJames G.EdwardsJames R.1999. The Congressional Politics of Immigration Reform. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
26.
GleesonShannon. 2010. “Labor Rights for All? The Role of Undocumented Immigrant Status for Worker Claims Making.”Law & Social Inquiry35 (3): 561–602.
27.
HainmuellerJensHopkinsDaniel J.2014. “Public Attitudes toward Immigration.”Annual Review of Political Science17:225–49.
28.
HajnalZoltanLeeTaeku. 2011. Why Americans Don’t Join the Party: Race, Immigration, and the Failure (of Political Parties) to Engage the Electorate. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
JassoGuillerminaMasseyDouglas S.RosenzweigMark R.SmithJames P.2008. “From Illegal to Legal: Estimating Previous Illegal Experience among New Legal Immigrants to the United States.”International Migration Review42 (4): 803–43.
31.
JenningsM. KentNiemiRichard G.1981. Generations and Politics: A Panel Study of Young Adults and Their Parents. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
32.
JenningsM. KentStokerLauraBowersJake. 2009. “Politics across Generations: Family Transmission Reexamined.”The Journal of Politics71 (3): 782–99.
33.
LeeTaeku. 2008. “Race, Immigration, and the Identity-to-Politics Link.”Annual Review of Political Science11:457–78.
34.
MannheimKarl. 1952. “The Problem of Generations.” In Karl Mannheim: Essays, edited by KecskemetiPaul, 276–322. Oxford: Routledge.
35.
MarcusGeorge E.2000. “Emotions in Politics.”Annual Review of Political Science3:221–50.
36.
MasseyDouglas S.2013. “America’s Immigration Policy Fiasco: Learning from Past Mistakes.”Daedalus142 (3): 5–13.
37.
MasseyDouglas S.DurandJorgeMaloneNolan J.2003. Beyond Smoke and Mirrors: Mexican Immigration in an Era of Economic Integration. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
38.
McCannJames A.Jones-CorreaMichael. 2016. “In the Public but Not the Electorate: The ‘Civic Status Gap’ in the United States.”The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences2 (3): 1–19.
39.
MeissnerDorisKerwinDonald M.ChishtiMuzzafarBergeronClaire. 2013. “Immigration Enforcement in the United States: The Rise of a Formidable Machinery.”Migration Policy Institute, Washington, DC.
40.
MenjívarCeciliaBejaranoCynthia L.2004. “Latino Immigrants’ Perceptions of Crime and Police Authorities in the United States: A Case Study from the Phoenix Metropolitan Area.”Ethnic and Racial Studies27 (1): 120–48.
41.
MerollaJennifer L.PantojaAdrian D.CargileIvy A. M.MoraJuana. 2013. “From Coverage to Action: The Immigration Debate and Its Effects on Participation.”Political Research Quarterly66 (2): 322–35.
42.
MichelsonMelissa R.2003. “The Corrosive Effect of Acculturation: How Mexican Americans Lose Political Trust.”Social Science Quarterly84 (4): 918–33.
43.
NgaiMae. 2004. Impossible Subjects: Illegal Aliens and the Making of Modern America. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
44.
OrtegaAlexander N.HorwitzSarah M.FangHaiKuoAlice A.WallaceSteven P.InkelasMoira. 2009. “Documentation Status and Parental Concerns about Development in Young US Children of Mexican Origin.”Academic Pediatrics9 (4): 278–82.
45.
PallaresAmalia. 2014. Family Activism: Immigrant Struggles and the Politics of Noncitizenship. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press.
46.
PantojaAdrian D.RamirezRicardoSeguraGary M.2001. “Citizens by Choice, Voters by Necessity: Patterns in Political Mobilization by Naturalized Latinos.”Political Research Quarterly54 (4): 729–50.
47.
PasselJeffrey S.CohnD’Vera. 2014. “Unauthorized Immigrant Totals Rise in 7 States, Fall in 14.”Pew Research Center’s Hispanic Trends Project, Washington, DC.
PasselJeffrey S.CohnD’Vera. 2016. “Overall Number of US Unauthorized Immigrants Holds Steady since 2009.”Pew Research Center’s Hispanic Trends Project, Washington, DC.
50.
PérezEfrén O.2015. “Xenophobic Rhetoric and Its Political Effects on Immigrants and Their Co-ethnics.”American Journal of Political Science59 (3): 549–64.
51.
PhamHuyenHoang VanPham. 2013. “Measuring State-Created Immigration Climate.”Migration and Citizenship Newsletter of the American Political Science Association1 (2): 22–27.
52.
RamakrishnanS. KarthickEspenshadeThomas J.2001. “Immigrant Incorporation and Political Participation in the United States.”International Migration Review35 (3): 870–909.
53.
SchlozmanKay LehmanVerbaSidneyBradyHenry E.2012. The Unheavenly Chorus: Unequal Political Voice and the Broken Promise of American Democracy. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
54.
SchumanHowardScottJacqueline. 1989. “Generations and Collective Memories.”American Sociological Review54 (3): 359–81.
55.
SearsDavid O.DanboldFelixZavalaVanessa M.2016. “Incorporation of Latino Immigrants into the American Party System.”The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences2 (3): 183–204.
56.
SnowDavid A.CressDaniel M.DowneyLiamJonesAndrew J.1998. “Disrupting the ‘Quotidian’: Reconceptualizing the Relationship between Breakdown and the Emergence of Collective Action.”Mobilization3 (1): 1–22.
57.
Suárez-OrozcoCarolaYoshikawaHirokazuTeranishiRobertSuárez-OrozcoMarcelo. 2011. “Growing Up in the Shadows: The Developmental Implications of Unauthorized Status.”Harvard Educational Review81 (3): 438–73.
58.
SuroRobertoSuárez-OrozcoMarcelo M.CanizalesStephanie L.2015. “Removing Insecurity: How American Children Will Benefit from President Obama’s Executive Action on Immigration.”Tomas Rivera Policy Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles.
59.
TarrowSidney. 1994. Power in Movement: Social Movements and Contentious Politics. New York: Cambridge University Press.
60.
TerriquezVeronica. 2012. “Civic Inequalities? Immigrant Incorporation and Latina Mothers’ Participation in Their Children’s Schools.”Sociological Perspectives55 (4): 663–82.
61.
TerriquezVeronicaKwonHyeyoung. 2015. “Intergenerational Family Relations, Civic Organizations, and the Political Socialization of Second-Generation Immigrant Youth.”Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies41 (3): 425–47.
62.
TverskyAmosKahnemanDaniel. 1991. “Loss Aversion in Riskless Choice: A Reference-Dependent Model.”The Quarterly Journal of Economics106 (4): 1039–61.
63.
VossKimBloemraadIrene. 2011. Rallying for Immigrant Rights. Berkeley: University of California Press.
WrightMatthewLevyMorrisCitrinJack. 2016. “Public Attitudes toward Immigration Policy across the Legal/Illegal Divide: The Role of Categorical and Attribute-Based Decision-Making.”Political Behavior38 (1): 229–53.
66.
YoshikawaHirokazu. 2012. Immigrants Raising Citizens: Undocumented Parents and Their Young Children. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
67.
Zepeda-MillánChris. 2014. “Perceptions of Threat, Demographic Diversity, and the Framing of Illegality: Explaining (Non)Participation in New York’s 2006 Immigrant Protests.”Political Research Quarterly67 (4): 880–88.
68.
Zepeda-MillánChris. 2016. “Weapons of the (Not So) Weak: Immigrant Mass Mobilization in the US South.”Critical Sociology42 (2): 269–87.
69.
ZolbergAristide. 2006. A Nation by Design: Immigration Policy in the Fashioning of America. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
